Cannes Film Nights is back at Louvre Abu Dhabi, bringing five evenings of international screenings from May 12 to May 16. In collaboration with the Institut français in the United Arab Emirates, the programme runs alongside the opening of the Cannes Film Festival in France. Over five nights, the museum’s auditorium becomes a cozy cinematic space, celebrating standout films and global stories drawn from the Festival de Cannes’ archive.
The Count of Monte Cristo (2024)
12 May
The event begins on May 12 with a screening of The Count of Monte Cristo. On the eve of his wedding, Edmond Dantès is betrayed and wrongfully imprisoned in the infamous Château d’If, where years of isolation slowly reshape him.
A chance encounter behind bars reveals the truth about his downfall and opens the door to escape. Armed with newfound knowledge and a hidden fortune, Edmond reemerges as the Count of Monte Cristo. Adopting a new identity, he returns to society with a calculated plan to confront those who destroyed his life, in a gripping story of revenge, transformation, and destiny.
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Sweet Bean (2015)
13 May
The screening event continues with Sweet Bean, a heartfelt Japanese drama-comedy that follows Sentaro, who runs a small dorayaki shop and quietly goes about his daily routine. His life takes an unexpected turn when Tokue, an elderly woman, offers to help in the kitchen, an offer he accepts with hesitation.
He soon discovers her extraordinary skill in making anko, the smooth, sweet red bean paste that gives the pastries their signature flavour. With Tokue’s carefully perfected recipe, the modest shop begins to thrive, attracting new customers and renewed attention. As their bond grows, Sentaro and Tokue gradually open up about their pasts, confronting old wounds and long-held regrets in a tender story about empathy, dignity, and human connection.
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Said Effendi (1956)
14 May
The event takes a more historic turn with the 1956 classic Said Effendi. Set in 1950s Baghdad, the film follows a schoolteacher who moves with his family to a modest new neighbourhood after being forced out of their home.
Life soon gets complicated when small disagreements with his neighbour, Abdullah the cobbler, escalate, first through the children, then between the families. Caught between his values as an educator and the pressures of everyday life, Said Effendi must figure out how to keep the peace, raise his children, and hold onto reason in a world where tensions are never far from the surface.
Sentimental Value (2025)
15 May
A more recent Cannes selection follows with Sentimental Value. Sisters Nora and Agnes are reunited with their estranged father, Gustav, a once-celebrated filmmaker now attempting a comeback. When Gustav offers stage actress Nora a role in his new project, long-buried tensions resurface. After she turns it down, she discovers the part has gone to an ambitious young Hollywood star instead.
What unfolds is a delicate family reckoning, as the sisters confront unresolved emotions, shifting loyalties, and old resentments, all while an unexpected outsider begins to reshape the fragile dynamics at the heart of their relationship.
Flow (2024)
16 May
The event closes on a lighter note with Flow, a light animated film. In a world slowly reclaimed by nature and left eerily silent after humanity’s disappearance, a lone Cat survives in isolation until a devastating flood destroys everything he knows. Forced onto a drifting boat alongside a group of very different animals, he must confront fear, instinct, and difference to stay alive.
As they journey through vast, submerged landscapes, the unlikely companions learn that survival depends on trust and cooperation. Flow unfolds as a wordless, visually captivating tale about resilience, connection, and finding unity in a changed world.
This diverse selection offers audiences in the Arab world a chance to experience international films that have featured at Cannes over the years, right in the heart of Abu Dhabi at Louvre Abu Dhabi. More than just a screening programme, it’s a cross-cultural experience that brings global cinema and local audiences together, celebrating storytelling as a shared language that connects the world through film.
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